The Web of Fear, one of the many long-lost Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s, is rumored to have been found. Doctor Who Online appears to be sorta-kinda backing off from their announcement of the news, while DWIN gives a good summary of the resulting fan tizzy.

After months of speculation, it appears that David Tennant will be reappearing in the TARDIS for not just a fourth season but also a fifth…with a bit of a twist.

Tennant has been slated to play Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which means that in 2009 there’ll be a gap year consisting of three specials, rather than a full slate of episodes. In 2010, the fifth season begins with another full ser of episodes. On the one hand, I’m disappointed that there won’t be much in the way of new Who for a year….but it beats the cavalcade of nothing we had for the previous decade.

The Seventies produced much to be admired in the sci-fi realm….Star Wars, classic Doctor Who episodes, Halloween, the Star Trek animated series…..but this guy,

The man who brought us Blade Runner and Alien says sci-fi movies are “tired and unoriginal. The man has a bit of a point, though I think he’s off-base regarding the Matrix. But genres generally have to play themselves out before they can recharge and bring fresh ideas to the table. Scott lauds 2001 as a masterpiece, but it took years of crappy B-movies and hackwork to reach that point. Likewise, it could be argued that sci-fi blockbusters have had a great run from Star Wars onward, and that they’d eventually have to run out of gas. It happened with Star Trek, with Star Wars itself, and even Doctor Who needed a bit of a rest before it came back in fighting form. So it’s probably just a matter of time before Sir Ridley is proven wrong.

Peter Davison, aka the Fifth Doctor, was recently interviewed by WhatsOnStage, mostly about his role in SpamaLot and his work in the theatre, but also touching on his time in Doctor Who. From the included picture, it looks like he might be able to pull off the rumoured meetup with David Tennant in the upcoming Children in Need vignette.

Moriarty, the only writer of note on Ain’t it Cool News (with the exception of the fantastic Neil Cumpston, who may also be Moriarty) has an “exclusive” on the subject matter of the upcoming J.J. Abrams-helmed Star Trek movie. The film revolves around a young cast of characters playing the classic series regulars, but in a weird twist they’re supposedly going to be the product of a different timeline. One the one hand, this craftily dodges continuity madness and effectively reboots the franchise, which is something Star Trek desperately needs. But on the other hand, it involves time travel, which has over 40 years gone from utter coolness in “City on the Edge of Forever” to a lame crutch in…well, everything past “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Predictably, the Trekosphere is boiling over with opinions.

This blog is an extension of the Radio Free Skaro podcast, a Doctor Who podcast which has been going on for the better part of a year and has managed to amass a small group of fans. I’d like to give them a place to discuss the podcast, as well as branch out into other sci-fi, gaming, British TV, and popular culture matters. This blog will give us a chance to do just that.